Ethics Experiment #1—Obedience

After doing this for seven days, write me a short summary of what you did and what you learned from it for two points. Due 8/26.

During this week, the focus is going to be on developing the ability to be happily obedient. Most people have the capacity to be obedient if they must, but they usually resent doing so, and this resentment will almost always come out later in some form or another. What I want you to try for one week is to obey those in authority and the law, but to do so happily as well. Grudging obedience is better than not at all. But happy obedience is even better. If it helps, take pride in the fact that you are simply doing something you choose to do to change your own life. Most likely you will find this very difficult to do, and that in itself should raise the level of pride you can take when you are able to obey though you dislike doing so. The goal here is not that you become a perfectly obedient person overnight. That won’t happen. The idea is to take a few areas of your life that you currently practice rebellion in and instead try to be obedient in them. Here are some suggestions:

1. Obeying the law:
1A. Try obeying the traffic laws. Almost all people obey them when there is a police car near by. Disobeying simply because you won’t be caught is exactly what the common criminal does. This week, drive whatever the posted speed limit is and no more. Obey construction zones, come to a full stop at stop signs and when turning right on red, use your turn signal when turning or when changing lanes, and stop for yellow lights instead of going faster to slip through them. For most of you, this will require leaving a bit earlier than you are used to. However, I suspect that one of the odd things you will discover is that you really don’t get there much if any quicker when you speed and break the law. While you are doing this, observe yourself. Are you more calm because you aren’t worried about getting caught? Are you less tense? Because you have left with enough time to arrive, are you more relaxed in getting there? Are you more worried about all the crazy fast drivers all around you? I predict most of you will find this rather small task extremely difficult to do and to enjoy. That in itself should be an indication of how much you actually aren’t in control of your own lives, but I’ll leave such analysis to you.

1B. Report all of your tips. If you work in a tipped industry, you know for a fact that very few people do this. Try it for a week, just to see how it makes you feel to know you have nothing to hide from the IRS or from anyone who is in a position to punish you.

1C. Drinking, smoking, drugs. Obviously, there are some rather restrictive laws regarding these things. Whatever age you are, if you consume these items, simply try obeying the relevant laws for one week. No drugs. Smoking only if you are over 18. Drinking only if you are over 21. It’s only a week, after all, and if you can’t even restrain yourself for one week, what does that say about your control of your own life?

1D. Littering. It is illegal to litter, including cigarette butts. Simply avoid doing this for one week.

1E. Stealing. Obviously, ordinary theft is unlawful, but this includes any form of deception or taking advantage when whoever rightfully owns the property would not want it to be done.

2. Obeying your parents
Most of you live with your parents or at least still have regular contact with them. For one week, simply try obeying them without argument and without delay. If there are things you know they expect of you, do them. If there are particular things they ask you to do (or tell you to do J) do them without arguing. If nothing else, you’ll probably shock them more than if you picked purple as your new hair color. If your parents say something you don’t like, try agreeing with them instead of arguing with them, just for an experiment. The way you talk to those in authority over you is also a measure of obedience. If you are married, try obeying your spouse for one week.

3. Obeying your teachers
Some of you are in school. Some things that represent obedience to teachers include doing all assignments, not talking in class, showing up on time, and being honest in all work (not cheating in any way). Just for one week, try treating all your teachers as people who exercise legitimate authority over you and you are willing to obey concerning such things.

4. Obeying your boss
Many of you have jobs. Every job has a boss who will occasionally (or often) ask/tell you to do things you do not want to do or disagree with. For one week, practice obeying your boss and doing whatever he/she asks without dispute or grumbling. This mean not slacking off just because the boss isn’t watching or because you think you won’t get caught. Practice behaving how you would if your boss were watching you the entire time.

Obviously, some of you will have more on this list to attempt than others. I recommend that you pick the things you think you can best manage and try doing the same items for a week. It may be overwhelming for some of you to try to do all of this at once, especially if you have really developed the habit of widespread rebellion against authority. Remember, obedience does not mean you agree. It simply means you act as if the person making the rule has the authority to tell you what to do, whether you like it or not. Have fun, and remember, part of the point of this exercise is to find out if you even have the capacity to obey or not, and to develop it more whether you already do or not.